The Truth About Older (50+) Salespeople

Wisdom is the knowledge base that will assist our future leaders.

Imagine if you will a time when you are getting a little bit older, a touch grayer and you start reflecting on what are you going to do when you get too mature for the industry you are in.

I have always had this question, but never bold enough to write about it. I’ve had a lot of opinions on this as the market is getting younger by the minute. People want to put millennials on pedestals and assume they are the next coming of…well whatever. I do not. But what I do say is they are dang smart. We Xers can learn tons from them.

The problem, however, is they lack the experience of hitting a curve ball. This can be taught of course, but won’t happen until they have failed a number of times. Knowledge and wisdom come from experience, not case studies.

I don’t fear getting older. I love it. I don’t fear millennials, I encourage them. 1+1 = power. Let’s embrace learning from one another. By the way, I am not 50+!!!

~The Organic Recruiter

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The Truth About Older (50+) Salespeople

 | Technology Sales Author, Sales Researcher, Founder Heavy Hitter Sales Training, USC Faculty

It is still hard times for salespeople (and sales managers) over 50 today. When companies downsize, they find themselves five times more likely to be let go when compared to their younger counterparts. They also have a more difficult time finding new jobs because younger sales managers have five basic fears about hiring someone older than themselves:

They are Un-coachable. Younger sales managers fear older salespeople are set in their ways and won’t take their directions.

They aren’t Technically Savvy. Younger sales managers fear they haven’t ingrained technology (smartphones, e-mail, and web-based sales force automation) into their daily working routine (nor are they up-to-date on the internet, social media, etc.).

They are “Washed Up.” Younger sales managers fear older reps are burned out from too many years “carrying the bag.”

They Have a Poor Work Ethic.  For a variety of family, personal, or health reasons, younger sales managers question how hard they will work.

They Really Want My Job! Perhaps the biggest fear of a younger manager is that he is hiring someone who may upstage him or her in the eyes of senior management in order to fulfill an ulterior motive of taking over their job.

Given these fears, I would like to offer five factors sales managers should consider when choosing between younger and more senior salespeople.

  1. Do you have to Sell to the C-Level? The C-level Executive sell is based upon establishing credibility and trust. Who do think has an easier time establishing rapport with senior executives; a 26 or 56 year old salesperson?
  2. It’s about relationships (not Rolodexes). Never hire any salesperson solely based on their Rolodex (if you’re under 30 you might have to look this word up) of customer contacts they claim to possess. Hire the salesperson who has a successful track record at penetrating new accounts and proven their ability of turning aloof prospects into close friends.
  3. Wit. Most companies make previous experience in the same industry their main criterion for hiring. Since these salespeople command the industry nomenclature, they are assumed to be qualified candidates. A more important hiring criterion is how candidates respond to pressure. In other words, how quick-witted or fast on their feet are they? What is their ability to learn quickly? Are they able to solve complex problems in real time? In this regard, don’t judge a book by its cover and assume a little gray hair means a lot less grey matter.
  4. Sales is a Mentor-based Profession. Sales organizations are mentor-based environments. Inexperienced salespeople don’t know what they haven’t seen for themselves. Usually, it’s through the “school of hard knocks” that they gain their experience. Unfortunately, this takes time. The entire sales team can benefit from emulating salespeople who have accumulated a reservoir of experience working with customers.
  5. Who Do You Trust!?! Peek into the cockpit as you board your next commercial flight. Chances are you are putting your life in the hands of one of the 70,000 airline pilots that are over 50 years old.

About the Author:  Steve W. Martin is the author of the “Heavy Hitter” series of books for senior salespeople on the human nature of complex sales. The Heavy Hitter corporate sales training program has helped over 100,000 salespeople become top revenue producers. Steve is a frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review and he teaches at the University of Southern California Marshall Business School MBA program. Visit www.stevewmartin.com to learn more.

Politics in the Workplace: What Must Employers Allow?

July 19, 2016 by William B. “Bill” deMeza Jr. | Kenneth A. Jenero

This article was written well before we knew who our president was to be. Now we know and the country is divided. No matter the side you are on, there are 2 absolutes to stay away from in the workplace: Religion and politics.

I can assure you that you are not 100% free of this in your company and it is getting more dangerous by the day to have these discussions. I am quite sure wherever these conversations are having, productivity is also suffering as doing both, arguing religion and politics will not allow you to accomplish your work tasks at 100%.

Asking you if this is happening is irrelevant. Asking you to reinforce a policy is inevitable. If you wish to keep production at full capacity and keep a culture for everyone, these policies and conversations must happen today.

~The Organic Recruiter

HIGHLIGHTS:

As the 2016 election nears, some employers are losing productivity, attention to customer service and worker focus as personnel discuss or advocate their political opinions. However, private employers often can reassert control by recognizing that two commonly held beliefs about “politics in the workplace” are, in fact, misconceptions. Employers who institute carefully crafted and uniformly enforced policies that limit political activities can lower the risk of employee claims while increasing worker productivity. Everyone has experienced both “workplace politics,” in which Type A employees claw their way to the top at the expense of co-workers, and “politics in the workplace,” in which employees discuss candidates for office and political issues of interest.

We now are deep into the 2016 election cycle, which means it’s likely that, given many employees’ intense interest in and support of candidates and issues, some employers are losing productivity, attention to customer service and worker focus as personnel discuss or advocate their opinions. However, private employers often can reassert control by recognizing that two commonly held beliefs about “politics in the workplace” are, in fact, only simple misconceptions.

Misconception 1: Employees Have a Constitutional Right to Talk “Politics” at Work

Wrong.

Employees, as well as many employers, commonly but mistakenly believe that the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees “freedom of speech” at work. In fact, the First Amendment applies only to government action and neither limits the rights of private employers to regulate employees’ communications nor provides any constitutional right for those workers to express thoughts or opinions at work. As a result, there is no constitutionally protected right of “free speech” in the offices and factories of private employers. Although employees may be entitled to express their views freely on their own time or on a soapbox in the park, they have no such wide-ranging constitutional rights at work. Absent rights provided by one of the limited exceptions discussed below, there are no legal protections for political activities in the workplace, so private employers generally may refuse to hire, adjust pay/benefits and even discharge “at will” employees because of their political views. In short, “political discrimination” often is not unlawful discrimination.

Many employers do have policies limiting the discussion of political candidates and issues at work because of the risks of unlimited “free speech” in the workplace. For example, although there is no general federal law prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of political affiliation or actions, sometimes seemingly neutral conversations about “politics” can lead to claims of employer discrimination, harassment or retaliation violating federal or state discrimination laws.

Workplace debates about a particular candidate’s fitness for office often include mention of genders, races or religions or their views on hot-button social issues such as abortion, “family values,” immigration and healthcare, which often are polarizing issues on which there are strong and opposing views among employees of different genders, religions, national origins, etc. The potential for heated disagreements – and inflammatory, impulsive, ill-advised comments – is obvious. Unfortunately, such comments sometimes result in claims of discrimination or retaliation in which it is alleged that “my supervisor is biased against [women/non-Christians/Hispanics] as shown by his comments about [healthcare/abortion/immigration policy]” or “the company punished me because I disagreed with my boss about [a social issue implicating gender, nationality, or religion].” Further, public discussion of schoolyard “bullying” seems to have prompted claims of “bullying” harassment by both supervisory and non-supervisory employees who forcefully advocated their political opinions to unreceptive co-workers. It is understandable, therefore, why many employers simply elect to minimize such controversies by prohibiting all “politics” at work.

Two General Exceptions

There are two general exceptions to the principle that private employers may legally implement a “no free speech or political activity in the workplace” policy.

First, laws in some states provide protections for political activities. For example, several states have “free speech,” “political activity” or “off-duty conduct” laws that give employees rights not provided by federal law or the laws of other states. As can be seen, the laws vary widely in scope and content; therefore, employers – particularly multistate employers – must carefully craft their own policies.

Second, and perhaps most importantly, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) restricts an employer’s right to limit non-supervisory employees’ communications about wages, hours and other terms or conditions of employment. These restrictions may apply not only when the protected communications occur in the workplace during working times but also when they occur outside the workplace during non-working times. In addition, the NLRA restrictions protect non-union employees as well as union-represented employees. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the federal agency that enforces the NLRA, has long recognized that all non-supervisory employees have the right to engage in concerted communications about such matters as pay, benefits, and workplace safety as long as they do so in a lawful and proper manner. Such communications generally will not lose their NLRA protection unless they are expressed in a manner particularly “opprobrious, disloyal, malicious, or disruptive to workplace discipline.” Unfortunately, there is no bright-line test, and the NLRB has continued to stretch the outer limits of what it believes is “protected.”

As interpreted by the NLRB, employee communications are “concerted” not only when he or she acts with or on the authority of other employees but also when the employee seeks to initiate, induce or prepare for group action or brings truly group complaints to management. This includes a broad range of communications, some of which may be engaged in by lone employees acting with no apparent group involvement. It also is well established that the NLRA protects employee communications and activities “in support of employees of employers other than their own” or which seek to “improve their lot as employees through channels outside the immediate employee-employer relationship.” One such channel is political activity. Therefore, employees’ statements and actions concerning political issues and events may be protected by the NLRA if there is a sufficient connection to the workplace or to employees’ terms and conditions of employment.

Because the NLRA’s protections are limited to political topics with a nexus to specific employment-related issues, employers lawfully may restrict workplace communications and activities that are purely political in nature. This would include, for example, communications generally touting a political party or candidate; displaying or distributing a “Vote for Smith” poster or campaign button; and wearing a T-shirt that seeks support for a proposed law to increase the speed limit. Although those communications and activities clearly are political in nature, they lack the connection to employment-related issues required to bring them within the scope of the NLRA’s protections.

But the line between unprotected “purely political” communications and NLRA-protected communications becomes blurred when the subject matter touches on wages, hours or other terms or conditions of employment. For example, displaying posters or distributing leaflets saying “Vote for Smith – She’ll Raise the Minimum Wage,” or wearing a T-shirt asking co-workers to “Support Workers’ Rights” by voting against a proposed “right-to-work law” likely are protected by the NLRA. Employers who restrict those types of communications risk exposure to a NLRB unfair labor practice charge. Not surprisingly, the NLRB also has extended the NLRA’s protections to “mixed communications” that contain both protected and unprotected political content. As a result, employers have an even greater challenge when deciding which communications are or are not protected under the NLRA.

Misconception 2: Employees Must Always be Allowed to Display and Distribute Political Materials and “Campaign” in the Workplace

Wrong again.

Employers generally have the right to adopt and enforce non-discriminatory rules prohibiting non-work-related activities in their workplaces, including “purely political” activities. For example, employers may ban employees from displaying or distributing materials that are purely political in nature; soliciting co-workers or customers to support purely political causes; using the employer’s computer and email systems to engage in purely political communications; or wearing buttons, shirts or other items of clothing with purely political messages. Such activities are not protected by the NLRA. In addition, employees who engage in such activities in violation of the employer’s published policies may be lawfully disciplined or discharged.

However, as noted above, political activities with a sufficient connection to employment-related issues may be protected by the NLRA. Therefore, any restrictions on such activities must comply with rules developed by the NLRB for such statutorily protected activities. For example:

An employer cannot lawfully prohibit workplace conversations about protected political subjects, even during working times, unless it similarly prohibits all other non-work-related communications.

If the protected political activity goes beyond simple conversation to actual solicitation of money or other support for a candidate or cause, then it may be prohibited during working times. But it may not be prohibited at all times on the employer’s premises.

If the protected political activity involves distribution of literature, then it may be prohibited during working times and in work areas. But it may not be prohibited on non-working time in non-work areas.

If the employer provides employees with use of its computer and email systems to perform their duties, then it generally cannot prohibit employees from using those systems to engage in protected political activity during non-working times. However, employers still have the right to impose uniformly applied bans on employees’ non-work-related use of other company equipment (such as copiers, printers and office supplies) to engage in political activities, including those protected by the NLRA.

In the absence of significant and demonstrable “special circumstances” – such as unique concerns about safety, patient care, damage to machinery or equipment, or customer service issues – an employer cannot prohibit employees from wearing buttons, T-shirts or other clothing displaying protected political messages.

As a result of the NLRB’s rules, employers lose much of their control over employees’ political communications and activities, both inside and outside the workplace, if they have a sufficient nexus to employment-related issues. Employers may not maintain overly broad rules that reasonably would be interpreted by employees as restricting such communications and activities, and employees may not be disciplined or discharged for engaging in them. We also can expect the current Board to try to find ways to expand the types of political activities that fall within the scope of the NLRA’s protection, i.e., the required nexus may become more and more attenuated.

What Should an Employer Do?

Several “next steps” exist for employers concerned about potentially work-disrupting, productivity-sucking, fury-inducing “politics in the workplace.”

First, prepare and implement a strong “no political activity” policy that has appropriate carve-outs for communications and activities protected by the NLRA or applicable state laws. Such carefully drafted policies not only are permitted but are considered an employer “best practice.” An absolute ban on political communications and activities would be both impractical and unlawful under the NLRA.

Second, employers must ensure that their policies, including those dealing with political activities, comply with the NLRB’s rules regarding permissible restrictions on workplace conversations, solicitation, distribution, use of the employer’s computer and email systems, and messages displayed on buttons, shirts and other items of clothing. Although the NLRA prohibits employers from imposing an absolute ban on all political expression, it permits policies that 1) prohibit purely political communications in the workplace; 2) prohibit employees from soliciting money or support for political candidates or causes during working times; 3) prohibit distribution of materials about those subjects in working areas and during working times; and 4) prohibit any related workplace communications or conduct that disrupt operations or productivity, or are accompanied by violent, unlawful or other extreme behavior. However, given the NLRB’s aggressive, pro-employee activity in this area, employers must be on the alert for new developments requiring modifications of their announced policies.

Third, employers should be prepared to promptly and effectively address violent, substantially disruptive, unlawful and other political communications and activities that fall outside the scope of the NLRA’s protection.

Fourth, employers may wish to discourage supervisors (either formally or informally) from having political discussions with subordinates in order to minimize potential claims of discrimination, harassment or bullying. As noted above, supervisors are not protected by the NLRA. However, any such policy also must be tailored to comply with applicable state law.

Fifth, employers should periodically remind employees – perhaps by redistribution of the relevant policies – that the company insists on respectful treatment of all personnel, does not tolerate discrimination, harassment or retaliation, limits employees’ access to and use of social media, and will investigate employee complaints of mistreatment. Although such reminders will make plain that political communications must comply with existing policies, the reminders must be carefully drafted in light of the NLRB’s views (which expressly recognize that a certain amount of “disrespectful” conduct is permitted by the NLRA).

Finally, employers must enforce “political activity” policies even-handedly. If a violation is suspected or a complaint is made, a careful investigation should be conducted and discipline issued as appropriate. “Even-handed” enforcement means not only consistent enforcement among all employees regardless of political affiliation or opinion but also consistency as to subject matter. This means, for example, enforcing facially lawful “no solicitation” and “no distribution” rules as to both protected political solicitations and distributions as well as other types of workplace solicitations and distributions. Applying the rules only to NLRA-protected activities (e.g., protected political communications, union-organizing activities, etc.) will draw an NLRB unfair labor practice charge.

Conclusion

Employers need not lose control of their workplaces during the run-up to elections. A carefully crafted and uniformly enforced policy that limits political activities and “free speech” will lower the risk of employee claims while increasing worker productivity.

Original Article

A Speedy Sourcer’s Guide To Conquering The Intake Session

There are many ways companies want to set up their processes to find the right people. From finding the people,to who talks to them first and how many people are in the interview process. One thing is for sure, you need to hire people. So why is it taking so dang long? This is the first time I read an article from Nicole Nespeca and I find myself to be in love with what she has to say about sourcing.

Time to fill is taking far too long. You can blame it on the supply (just ask me for supply and demand information), the economy or even the election for some weird reason. But I think it is time for some reflection and accountability that you are just getting in your own way.

Let’s look at the 5 techniques Nicole has put in front of us and see if that makes it easier for you to make that sound decision quicker.

~ The Organic Recruiter

elephant-700x467

By  Sourcecon

Now that the election is over, we no longer have to listen to donkeys or elephants. However, if you are a sourcing professional, you probably don’t mind purple squirrels and pink elephants and the PETA-approved hunt. Consequently, you will need to do the quintessential intake session and must prove just how valuable you are to your company’s talent acquisition team.

So where do you start? Should you read the job description first and start researching, or wait until you speak to with the hiring manager? Every recruiting paradigm is different and therefore will continue to shift. Some talent acquisition teams have intakes between the sourcer and the hiring manager and some are with the aligned recruiter only. The most advantageous are with the hiring manager and recruiter as it’s more streamlined. Anticipating the needs of your hiring manager and/or aligned recruiter is crucial to your success in finding the right candidate.

Here are five speedy techniques a sourcer can do to master the intake meeting.

  1. Forget about refreshing your Facebook page every two minutes, you need to research as quickly as possible before the intake session. I recommend focusing on market intelligence, specific demographic candidate pools, and the potential difficulty of the search.

Primarily, you must research the demographic of the open position as well as the candidate supply and demand. You can get this free data from Salary.com, Glassdoor or just by using a search engine. You want to know what the market looks like. Research this before the intake so you can speak to the statistics of the candidate pool and how you will circumvent any supply challenges. You want to come to the intake session armed with as much information as possible. This leads to my second action you should as a subset of research.

  1. Remember the old adage “In a race, I never look back?” Well, ironically it’s just as important when knowing your competitor.

Know your competitors and the market intelligence of the industry you are hiring for.  Sourcers are quick studies. They are fast and know how to speed read. One must be able to do this expediently prior to the intake session. Understanding the back story is pertinent to the search. You will impress the hiring manager and recruiter alike if you know what companies are downsizing candidates that could fit into the open opportunity. Furthermore, gaining knowledge as to where to find untapped talent is paramount.

  1. Use past resumes to source candidates in the future. Nothing compares to reading a resume in terms of learning about a person.

Once I reviewed a resume that had “Atari” as a skill. Until I saw that, the candidate looked like a match for the open requisition. You need to see resumes of previous candidates to succeed in a hire. Consequently, please get the resume of the person in the position being filled and read it carefully. Use the keywords in that resume to make Boolean searches and resume matches on social media. If the hiring manager or recruiter doesn’t have the resume, you can usually find it in your company’s ATS. If it’s a new position and therefore no resume exists, ask the hiring manager what keywords you should look for in your search and where the hiring manager has hired from previously in terms of competing companies to your own.

  1. Lighten your link’s load. It only takes two seconds to make a Bitly.

Every sourcer should construct a Bitly link because it makes campaign drivers and website pages much shorter for sharing on social, email, and SMS and directs applicants to an application typically. I highly recommend you write a catchy social media blurb to drive prospective candidates to your open requisition. When speaking with your hiring manager and recruiter on the intake you should share the blurb you will use on social media and ask them to share the same blurb. Leveraging another’s network is significant in giving visibility to the open requisition.

  1. “Organizations, schools and trade shows…oh my” as I say in my best Wizard of Oz impression.

When summarizing the job on the intake, make sure you ask about any organizations, schools or trade shows the team hiring might belong too. Part of being a good sourcer is uncovering lists of candidates online from job fairs or symposiums for example. In order to find these types of lists, you must delve deep into the hiring manager’s repertoire. Also, connect on LinkedIn with your hiring manager. Not only is doing so good for building a relationship, but it also allows you to see your hiring manager’s connections which could yield a hire.

Researching fast prior to your intake will help you establish credibility right away with your hiring manager and recruiter. You must perform this due diligence in order to be effective in hiring. Coming to the intake already understanding some of the challenges involved and then sharing resolutions to circumvent these issues will impress on the intake. Coming prepared is tantamount to being a successful sourcer. And all triumphant sourcers study and educate themselves on each position they recruit for. I hope these five tips will help you nail your next intake and if you can get a hold of an old Atari to play after a hard search, even better.

Do You Know Why You Want It?

why-you-do-itAs we move into December and hear the pitter patter of feet running to make their wish lists, we too quietly ponder what we’d like for the holidays and in 2017. After all, haven’t we all been good girls and boys?

During a conversation with one of my best friends this last weekend we discussed the entertainment business he works in. Our conversation was about how the original ideas of some TV shows get lost because the executive producers start fighting over who has the best notes. By the time it gets to the editor, the initial idea of the show is lost.

No one says it better than Simon Sinek in his book “Start with Why”.

Without the Why you have lost your What. If the producers had stopped to remember why they were creating the show, they would not have lost the What. What was the purpose of the show and why? Could the show have been more successful if the judgement was not clouded by ego?

Every day we go after the shiny bullet or the cool new toy that everyone is talking about on Facebook or any other social media or blog. Whether it be the latest ATS such as Workday or Greenhouse to the ever changing LinkedIn. As a society we are always getting sold into the pretty tool because it helped solve someone else’s problem. The question is: will it solve your problem? Are you chasing your own solution or what someone has told you is your solution? Do you know what your Why is? Why are you doing whatever it is?

Companies boast being “military friendly”. Why does the company want to be military friendly and how has the company achieved it? Was the purpose to check a box or was it to reach out to veterans to offer thanks and help transition him/her back into a civilian job? I once sat at a bar with a recruiter and in conversation with a stranger, she learned he was a vet. She immediately reached out to give her business card and offered to help. She mentioned military.com and how it had helped many vets in her network find a position. In my opinion, that’s “military friendly”. Simply posting a position on a supposedly “military friendly” site does not equate to being military friendly. What site is that? How many veteran viewers does it link to? What efforts does that site do to reach out to veterans? What else is the company doing to reach out to the veterans?

What is your why? If you have a wish list, what is on it and why is it there?  Are you looking to appease shareholders? Is it to attract the right talent? Is it to do the right thing at the right time? Is it to increase your ROI of time, money or retention?

you-why“Start with Why” explains how to inspire with ideas rather than product. Simon Sinek goes on in his 2 of his 3 theories being:

  • The Golden Circle:
    • Sinek states, most people in a company know what they do; less people know how they do it; and hardly anyone knows why they do it
  • The Celery Test:
    • If you’re at a grocery store getting food for your health food business, could someone look at your groceries at the checkout line and immediately know what you’re all about?  If you’ve purchased soy milk, chocolate, pudding, and celery the answer is no.  If you’re just purchasing the soy milk and celery, then yes.
    • In business, if you’re not passing the celery test, if you can’t walk the walk after talking the talk, you’ve lost credibility and frankly damaged your integrity.

People buy Apple products because even before Tim Cook, Steve Jobs would only speak on the Why long before he showed you the what.

The founders of Southwest Airlines knew people would love to fly with them because they built their airline on the Why they wanted to fly, rather than just getting to their destination through crappy service.

What’s on your list this year? Why do you want it?

Let’s talk about your Why.

~The Organic Recruiter | Co-wrote with Candy Store

Time Management For Sourcers And Recruiters – Resume Reading

I’ve written a few articles on the importance of knowing your candidate because unfortunately, your hiring managers consider these awesome people as a resume and not an actual person. And you as recruiter spend 6 seconds on a resume if the candidate is lucky. Why is that? Not enough time, patience or the formatting is bugging you? I don’t know your answer, but these are the top ones. Kevin wrote some great points in managing your time.

This article has some good tips to manage your time but time-management is the most important tool you can use. You are missing great people and without a semantic tool (like Monster has a number of them), you’ll need to rely on your boolean prowess and great ctrl+F. But remember, that doesn’t mean you know the person behind the not-so-pretty resume.

Please practice time-management and get to know the piece of paper.

~The Organic Recruiter

timem-700x467By  Sourcecon

We first started with Time Management for Sourcers and Recruiters – Schedule Building which, discussed how to plan your day to be effective and efficient. In this article, I will go through various techniques that will help you be even more effective and efficient for better time management that I am sure will increase productivity for you.

In our business one thing we must do is read a resume, in doing so we are expected to decipher the “code” embedded in the resume, compare work experience to the requirements from the hiring manager, and decide to or not to call/email the candidate. Then after we have all of our notes we need to make a decision if this is a viable candidate for the opening. This is a process that is repeated on every candidate we come across.

This is very time-consuming. Now that you have built your daily schedule and are staying on track with that schedule which you’re already seeing yourself being more effective and efficient, now we need to take it up a notch. Follow these proven steps in order to do just that.

First, after you craft that beautiful award winning Boolean string and enter it into whichever job board you prefer, you return a list of potential diamonds, and now the issue is to go through as many as candidates possible and build your list. The issue we all have is time, so why not use it to our advantage.  One thing we are all guilty of is getting sucked into the words on a resume or maybe the format is horrible and we’re just lost in translation. You need a two-minute sand timer.

When you pull up that list of potential diamonds and compile a bunch of resumes to filter, flip over the two-minute sand timer. You shouldn’t spend more than two minutes viewing a resume. Our attention on one aspect loses its ability to decipher new information after about two minutes and we need to take a minute to reset. With timing yourself you don’t get lost and develop the ability to say, yes this candidate looks great on paper, I still have a few questions regarding some of the experiences and technologies, or this candidate is not on the right track of what we are looking for.

As time goes on once you get the repetition down you will see yourself having time left out of the two minutes and becoming a resume reading legend.

Second, when you are getting ready to start using your timer and reading resumes, make sure you are prepared to understand the technology and what the surrounding words should be. Here are some red flags that will arise questions on candidate profiles:

  • Titles
    • A title is either what they want to be called or what they are given upon hire. This can be miss leading because each company may have a different ranking system however if you see someone progress from a help desk tech to a system engineer, to a desktop support tech, to a senior project manager, then there are some immediate red flags there.
  • Tenure
    • Look at the dates. Months and years are huge. If someone is only in one to two month positions for several years that raises a concern for a hiring manager that is looking for a stable candidate. If someone has gaps in the resume for more than six to nine months that is also concerning, but should be discussed with the candidate to dig deeper.
  • Description
    • This is where the research comes into play. If someone lists themselves as a project manager, they should be describing project manager work in that role.
  • Technologies
    • Candidates who put EVERY technology they have EVER worked with may just be looking for fluff. Tech is changing so fast that something they did in the 90s is irrelevant today!
  • Education
    • If your hiring manager requires a degree in a certain field of study views this first. Be sure it is listed and aligned with what you’re looking for.

Another cool trick is Ctrl + F (Find) which I’m surprised a lot of people are not using. Each opening role we have listed three to five skills that are MUST HAVES. A quick way to filter through other than the highlighted words on the resume from your Boolean string is to use Ctrl + F and pull up alternative spellings. You would be surprised what you may miss.

For example when candidates love abbreviations or alternative spellings so they are “hard to find:” Manager – Mgr or Mangr; SaS – S@S, $a$, or $@$; Citrix – Zen, ZenApp, ZenDesk, XApp, or XDesk etc. Now you may be thinking, well how many candidates actually do this? Who knows, but I have seen them and wouldn’t have found those candidates without doing just this. If you are searching for a hard to find skill set and need to take a different approach craft two Boolean strings, one narrow and one broad.  When you pull up the candidates that are found using the broad string, this is a tip that may work best with that.

If you are searching for a hard to find skill set and need to take a different approach craft two Boolean strings, one narrow and one broad. When you pull up the candidates that are found using the broad string, this is a tip that may work best with that.

I’m confident with this best practice you will see yourself being more successful with resume reading and utilizing the limited time you have to be more effective and efficient.